As The Green Club, we aspire to impact our community, nation, and world, by educating, inspiring, and involving people. Our aim is to help people become more efficient and to help bring balance to their inner and outer environments in order to help them into a greener future.                                                                                     

INTRODUCING THE GREEN CLUB                                                               

A group of Greensburg High School students came together to officially form THE GREEN CLUB. Working in concert with Greensburg GreenTown, the group began meeting in January to get organized, develop a vision statement, and formulate their initial goals. They have an ambitious agenda, accompanied by boundless enthusiasm and creative energy.

The Club has a vision of educating and inspiring people of all ages to learn about what "green" means. They intend for their message about conserving resources and living a green lifestyle to have a ripple effect, both within their community and out in the world.

The Club appointed Alexsis Fleener as Secretary, Nathan James Guyette as Treasurer, and decided to operate for now as a committee rather than having a chairperson. Also involved in the first week of meetings were Taylor Schmidt, Levi Smith, Tim Morton, Eric White and Megan                                Gardiner.                                                                                                                           

GreenTown staff member Alanna Goodman serves as the Club's Advisor. In addition to having a page here on the GreenTown website, the group will post information on the school's daily web page.

The group got started with their first green activity in January when they picked up residents' Christmas trees for recycling. Over fifty trees were saved from going to the dump, and will be turned into nourishing mulch for Greensburg's trees and plants. Alexsis Fleener remarked, "Why buy mulch in a bag when you can pick it up on Colfax Street for free!"

The students were delighted by people's support and enthusiasm for this recycling program. When asked why it was important for residents to participant in this Christmas tree program, Levi Smith summed it up quite succinctly: "It just makes sense . . . the only other thing that would have happened to the trees would have been them ending up in the trash."

PRIORITIES

The February 1 meeting was attended by students  Levi Smith, Taylor Schmidt, Nathan James Guyette, Alexsis Fleener, Tim Morton and Jayvid Guyette. From GreenTown, Club advisor Alanna Goodman, and Daniel Wallach & Catherine Hart were on hand to facilitate the honing of the vision statement and help the group set its short-term goals. Club  members decided that their most important priorities for the rest of the semester are:

* Lightbulb exchange program, in which residents bring in their old, traditional bulbs and trade them in for compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). The Club has a goal of selling 1,000 CFLs this year, and recycling the old bulbs in a creative project to be unveiled at a later date.

* Recycling is a very important value for the students. They have placed bins throughout the school, thanks to the generosity of the Sunflower RC&D (Resource Conservation and Development), and are busy educating school officials and local businesses about recycling, and making it easier for everyone in the community to participate.

*  Education and information sharing, especially through the Club's website, is paramount.

GREENSBURG CUBED PROJECT

The Green Club will be assisting in KSU's Greensburg Cubed Project this spring. Fifth-year students from the College of Architecture are designing and building several modular cubes (10'x10'x10') , each of which will serve both a practical and educational function in Greensburg. The Club has a special interest in the "Recycling Bin" cube, and met with student representatives and their professor on Wednesday, February 20 to discuss details of their involvement. They were invited by the KSU students to be involved in the construction phase , as well as to brainstorm how this cube might best be designed and outfitted. For more info on this innovative project , click here.

NEXT MEETING

Students who want to get involved in The Green Club are invited to attend the next meeting on Thursday, April 24 at 3:30 in the Learning Center trailer on the school grounds.

                                         The Green Club at Green Day March 29:  Shannon, Alexsis, Tim, Levi (with trombone),

Taylor, Alanna (Club Advisor), Jayvid, & Kendall